So We Ran✔️

•Chapter 7: Soft Side•

I wake up to hear the calming sizzle of the stove. A smile crosses my face. I haven't heard that sound in the comfort of my own home since before Dad left. I smell pancakes, bacon, and eggs. I roll over in bed, where Jackson no longer is. I assume he's the one making the breakfast. As I sit up in bed, I see a piece of paper near my window. It is folded into a small rectangle, with my name carefully etched on the note.

My window has a thin opening on the edge of the sill. It's been there for as long as I can remember, but it wasn't until I met Jackson that I took advantage of it. He used to slip notes through it asking silly questions like, "What's the homework?" or "Do you have food?", and our friends caught on. Eventually, the small slit became our friendship mailbox.

I walk toward the note, knowing it'd be from either Fawn, Jackson, or Rory. I slide my body down the wall and sit next to the note. I open it up and immediately recognize the handwriting. It read:

Grey, meet me at Charlotte's Diner. 12 PM. We have much to discuss.
Please come. I'm sorry.
-Aiden

"Dipshit," I mumble under my breath. I get up from my position, grab a fluffy robe and a pair of furry gray slippers and head to the kitchen, relying on the scent of breakfast to relieve my stress from Aiden's letter.

"Mornin' sleeping beauty," Jackson greets me.

"Morning," I answer, snatching a piece of bacon from a paper plate.

"What's up?" Jackson asks casually.

"Well, Satan sent me a note."

"Oh, yeah? What did Aiden say?" Jackson asks as he takes a bite out of his pancakes.

"He wants me to meet him."

"Where?"

"Charlotte's," I say, pouring syrup over my pancakes. "Wait... We don't own syrup," I realize.

"I went out and got some earlier this morning. Anyway, about Aiden, how hard do you want me to punch him?" Jackson asks. I'm not sure if he's joking.

"Hard."

"Kay'. What time?"

"Wait, you're serious?" I ask, tightening my grip around my fork.

"Yes, I'm serious," Jackson clarifies. "Aiden broke your heart after two years of dating you. He didn't just cheat on you, he held back your creative spirit for the two years you were together. He lied. He made you think you two were forever. Now, I may be a player, but even I know that what he did is unacceptable, wrong, and the work of an ass wipe."

I sit there—my fork still in my hand—dumbfounded. I hadn't realized Jackson thought that about Aiden. "Jackson," I say softly, "I don't want you to hit him. I don't want you to yell at him. I don't want you to come with me. I just want you to be waiting for me here with cookie dough ice cream so I lay on your lap and have an existential crisis when I get back. Deal?"

"Deal."

When 11:30 rolled around, I didn't do my hair or makeup. I didn't put on heels. I didn't even wear the jeans that made my butt look fantastic. I simply put my hair up into a messy bun, put on sunglasses, and threw on joggers and a t-shirt. Charlotte's Diner wasn't too far from my house, so I walked.

I got into the diner at 12:00 sharp to find Aiden already waiting in the booth where we once had a date. It was an insignificant date, but I guess it meant something to him to have me meet him here.